


If I Lose Myself

by SingingWhileCrying



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Amethyst needs therapy, Angst, Body Horror, Corruption, Corruption Flashbacks, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Multi-Chapter Fanfic, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recovery, SU Headcanons, Sporadic Updates, Steven needs therapy, Unfinished, WILL BE DELETED, discontinued, more angst than fluff, sort of slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 03:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8515993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingWhileCrying/pseuds/SingingWhileCrying
Summary: (THIS FANFIC HAS BEEN CANCELLED!).The Crystal Gems knew that Homeworld was going to invade soon, but even Garnet couldn't predict Homeworld's sudden attack that rendered all of them - except the young hybrid, Steven Universe - corrupting and presumably unable to be helped.However, when a sudden turn of events heals one of the gems before their mind could fully be ripped apart from the Diamonds' song, the remaining Crystal Gems must fight for their planet and it's inhabitants; even if it means fighting their old friends or losing themselves protecting their home.





	1. Flash of Light

**Author's Note:**

> This was typed up over the past day or so. I hope you enjoy.

"I'm heading out to get the bits." Steven revealed, walking out of the bathroom after just changing out of his pajamas.

Pearl was sitting down at the counter, talking with Amethyst and Garnet, who were sitting away from the direction of the bathroom. They seemed to be deep in discussion, but they pause when they hear Steven.

Amethyst turns to him before replying.

"Hey Ste-man, ya' mind if I come with? I wanna get the bits as well."

"Sure, Amethyst." He replies, smiling before looking Garnet and Pearl. "What about you guys?"

"No thank you, Steven. Just come back right after, we have to discuss something about..." She pauses, looking at Garnet briefly before continuing her sentence. "A mission."

Garnet turns around to face the half-human, half-gem and nods her head.

"It's a serious mission."

He nods as Amethyst gets up from the counter.

"Yeah, we'll come back quick." She says slightly more tense than usual, but not as much as the others. "Ready, bro?"

He nods and grins, waving goodbye to Garnet and Pearl as he and Amethyst leave the house.

 

* * *

 

 

Steven started speaking a few seconds after they left.

"Hey Amethyst?"

She turns to him, walking backwards away from the temple.

"Yeah?"

"What were you guys talking about?"

She stops walking for a moment, then continued as if she never stopped.

"We were talking about some corrupted gems we have to handle. Usually, we just go and take 'em out, but apparently there's a hoard of them near the Sky Spire. According to Garnet, we have to be cautious, as they could take us down, even though we've done stuff like this before."

She turns back around and continues walking, considerably faster than Steven was.

_That's odd._ He thinks to himself. _Maybe the corrupted gems are trying to do something?_

He couldn't think about it anymore. At the same moment he finished the thought, that's when it happened.

Without warning, a huge light appeared and flashed across the sky in only seconds. It produced a loud noise, but Steven rapidly summoned a bubble around himself instinctively.

He had no idea what had happened until the vibration stopped and he dismissed his bubble.

He looked in front of him. Amethyst was now looking down while on her knees, groaning in pain. Her form also started developing purple spikes on her arms.

He froze in horror as he realized what was happening.

_She was corrupting._

He doesn't think as he runs to her side, kneeling beside her.

"Amethyst, I'm here." He tells her, his hands shaking in fear as he licks the left one. He was trying to stay calm, especially considering this was something he had tried before with Jasper, except now it was someone in his family.

She groans, not even looking at him. "Go-away."

Her voice was shaking, sounding more raspy and exhausted with every word.

Steven closes his eyes and puts his spit-covered hand on a small, non-spiky area of her right arm.

Nothing happened.

His eyes widened, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"It's not working." He whispers, his voice cracking.

She groans again and turns to him. She looked like she was going to poof, but was forcing herself to stay alive.

"Go-please." She begs. Steven had never seen her so defeated, not even when Jasper defeated her again in the Beta Kindergarten.

"No. I-I can fix this! I can help!" He knew he couldn't. He was helpless.

He was crying freely now, even though he wasn't able to hide his emotions in the first place.

"I'm sorry Amethyst." He tells her.

She was still looking at him, groaning every few seconds as the spikes grew more and more. He had a bad feeling she wouldn't be able to fight much longer.

He had to calm himself down quickly. He had to focus. _He had to._

"We, are the crystal gems." It was almost out of instinct. He was singing. To his surprise, Amethyst had stopped groaning and was paying attention to him singing. The spikes also seem to slow down in growth; he let's himself continue.

"We'll always save the day. And if you think we can't,"

He closes his eyes, trying to keep himself calm.

"We'll always find a way." He opened his eyes and looks at his corrupting family member. To his astonishment, she had started singing with him.

He gulps, having a thin, somber smile start to develop on his face.

Amethyst smiles back. She picks her right hand up from the ground, wincing in pain as she does so. The tips of her fingers had claws on them, the spikes are her arms seemed to no longer grow at all.

She reaches and places her hand on Stevens' arm, before suddenly using his arm to pull herself up, embracing him.

He gasps in surprise before hugging back, even though a spike was poking him in his left arm.

Then there was a light.

Steven could feel it, but it wasn't the same feeling he feels when he fuses with her.

_What is happening?_ He thinks to himself.

Then the two were forced out of the embrace.

Steven lands away from her, his head hitting the sand.

It felt like a blow to his brain, as he lied there. His eyes closed and the world spinning around him.

He opens his eyes after a few seconds, but he was almost shocked to see what had happened.

"Hey! Are you dead?" It was Amethyst. Despite a few purple spots on her arms, she looked normal.

Steven had star in his eyes, before he pushes himself up and hugs her before than she could react.

"Amethyst!" He screams in joy. He couldn't believe it. He _healed_ her. He actually did something his mother couldn't. He couldn't be happier.

He lets go from the embrace seconds later, still looking at her as she looks at the only parts of her that show she was corrupting, her spotted arms and clawed fingers.

"Oh man, wait till Garnet and Pearl hear-"

He pauses, the color draining from his face.

Amethyst must've had a similar realization, as she looks at him, eyes widening.

Without saying a word, the two quartz's ran back to the temple to see if the damage from the diamonds affected Garnet and Pearl.


	2. Twisted Realities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst and Steven run to the temple to see if Garnet and Pearl had become corrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we get to the chapter, I just want to thank everyone who has checked out this story so far. I will be continuing it as a multi-chapter fanfic and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Steven's heart was pounding in his ears as he and Amethyst ran to the temple.

He may have been able to save Amethyst, but that could be just because she didn't become fully corrupt. He also didn't really understand what caused her to be healed, except that he was able to do it.

However, while he saved one member of his family, many of the rest could've been affected, and he might not even have the power to heal them.

Amethyst made it to the window of the temple before Steven did. Her face seemed to look distressed.

Steven makes it to the window seconds later, resting his hand on the wall as his heart sink.

Inside the temple, two beings stood. One had slightly pink feathers, spread across her bird-like body, which was pure white with small areas of blue. She also had a white pearl in her head, above a long beak and two very small eyes. The other looking like she was made of magenta rocks, being stacked until the top, when the rocks were black. She had three glowing eyes; blue and red with a purple in the middle and had two dark red gems in her palms. Both seem to be close to the ceiling in height.

_It was Pearl and Garnet._

"Oh no." Steven says, his whole body starting to tremble. "We're too late."

Amethyst forms a fist in her hand, her teeth clenching together.

Steven sighs before grabbing the doorknob.

"We gotta go in, Amethyst."

Amethyst turns to him quickly.

"Steven, I don't know if that's a good idea. I mean, sure it's Pearl and Garnet, but they might not remember us."

"We have to try. They would try if we were the ones that got corrupted."

Amethyst looks inside the temple again and nods.

With that motion, Steven opens the door.

Garnet and Pearl don't automatically hear Steven and Amethyst entering the house, rather focusing on the different areas of the house.

"Hi." Steven says, trying to sound loud enough for them to hear without startling them.

He couldn't tell whether or not they were startled, but he got their attention.

Pearl walks closer to Steven and Amethyst, her head turning diagonally to look at them. She made direct eye-contact with Steven as he continues speaking.

"Do you remember who you are?" He asks, taking a step closer to her.

She blinks in response.

Steven sees Garnet walk closer to the entrance of the temple, walking closer to him.

_Ring. Ring._

Steven's phone starts to go off, vibrating in his pocket.

His body seems to freeze as Pearl and Garnet rapidly backed away from Steven before Pearl squawks loudly in fear.

Garnet starts running towards Steven and Amethyst, her arms starting to spin rapidly like a helicopter's blades.

_Ring. Ring._

Steven backs away from them, looking at both of his old guardians in fear.

"Dude, we gotta go." He hears Amethyst say from behind him.

Steven looks at them for one more moment before turning around and starting to run.

Amethyst starts running once he does, and together they run away from their former teammates, their family members.

_Ring. Ring._

They run until they reach the Big Donut, where Steven leans against the wall, exhausted from what has happened and from having to run so quickly.

Amethyst simply stood next to him, rubbing her arm and trying to comprehend what had just happened.

After a few moments, Steven looks at Amethyst and starts letting his tears flow again.

"I can't believe this happened." He cried.

"Yeah. It's a lot to take in-"

She's cut off by Steven embracing her, crying into her shoulder in shock and heartbreak.

Amethyst hugs him back and, after a few moments, allows herself to cry too.

_Ring. Ring._

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Connie was pacing in her kitchen, the house phone to her ear as she tried dialing Steven's number for the fifth time.

It was uncommon for her to call someone repeatedly, but this time it was different.

She tried calling only a few minutes after a flash of light occurred in the sky, after talking to her parents and asking if she could use the phone.

Steven had not mentioned anything like this happening before that the gems knew about. He didn't mention that they were going on a mission, he almost always made sure she knew whether or not he was on a mission.

Did he know what caused it at all? She thought to herself.

It wasn't until the seventh time she called that he picked up.

"Hello?" He asks. His voice cracked as he said the word, he sounded like he had been crying.

"Steven!" She replies, wondering why he sounded so upset. "What happened? Why do you sound like you were crying?"

There was no answer for several moments, until Steven tries replying.

"The flash," he pauses and gasps for air. "The light. It-"

He doesn't say anything else, and Connie was almost certain that he begun crying.

She looks outside a window in her house before making her decision.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism is appreciated. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	3. Comfort for All, Relief for None

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst and Steven go talk to Greg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small update: This fanfic will most likely be updating once each weekend, unless stated otherwise. I hope you enjoy chapter 3.

Lars found Steven and Amethyst sitting, crying and hugging each other next to the Big Donut only two minutes after Connie called.

He looks at them in confusion, before smirking and starting to speak.

"Hey Steven, did ya' girlfriend break up with you?" He asks sarcastically and laughs.

Steven looks at him and shakes his head, trying to speak.

"No. The light. Garnet and Pearl."

His words are spaced out as he tried to regain his composure, but couldn't and cries again.

Lars' smile faded as he starts slowly walking backwards back into the Big Donut.

"Well, keep your crying down. I hear ya' from inside."

He turns around and walks back inside, leaving Steven and Amethyst next to the donut shop.

Amethyst and Steven pull themselves out of the hug as the purple gem sighs.

"Hey Steven, wanna go talk to your dad? I'll let Connie know to not go to the temple."

Steven nods, looking down at the ground. He had already tried hiding a major event before with Connie, but she refused to let him keep it to himself.

"Yeah, alright. He could help us."

Both of them get up to their feet and start walking in the direction of It's a Wash! as Amethyst starts speaking again.

"You know, you did save my life from corruption junk, so you can help G-Squad and Pearl. Even if it takes a while, you ain't alone, fellow worse gem."

* * *

 

Greg was waving goodbye to a customer when he saw, not very far away, Steven and Amethyst. They seemed to be walking in the direction of the carwash.

He sighed, smiling as his son starts to run up to him.

"Dad!" He screams and embraces him.

"Hey Stu-ball." Greg said, hugging him back. As he hugs Steven, he sees Amethyst wave quickly before looking down at Steven's phone, pressing its screen several times.

"How's your day been, Steven?"

Steven didn't reply, but he did tighten his hug with Greg.

"Didn't you see the light?" He asks his father, his voice beginning to crack.

"You mean the one that happened not long ago?"

"Yeah."

"I did see it then, but I thought it was just the sun in my eyes. What was it?"

Steven looks up at his dad, tears starting to form again.

"Can we sit down and I'll tell you?"

With a nod from Greg, Steven lets go of the embrace and they walk to the carwash, sitting down next to the wall.

Greg didn't know what he expected Steven to tell him, but he did not expect him to say that Garnet and Pearl became corrupted and that he didn't know how he was able to save Amethyst.

"Is there anything else that happened due to that light?" Greg asks, heart pounding in fear.

Steven shakes his head, wiping his tears. "We tried talking to Pearl and Garnet now that they're corrupted, but my phone went off and Amethyst and I had to leave the temple because they were freaked out."

Neither of them speak as Greg feels Steven hug him again. He hugs back, the news sinking in that Garnet and Pearl are corrupted.

_Wait, did Steven check on Lapis and Peridot after the light?_ Greg wonders, but doesn't ask. Steven needed to calm down after what happened.

Only a few minutes later, Greg sees Amethyst walk towards them; Connie walked next to her. They seemed to be talking about something.

"Hey Steven." Connie said, concerned.

Steven looks at her and wipes his face, letting go of the and stands up.

"Amethyst told me what happened. I'm so sorry, Steven."

He wipes his face again. "I hope we can help them."

As they continued to speak, Greg walks towards Amethyst.

"Hey Amethyst." Greg said, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey." She replies.

"How are you feeling?"

"I nearly became a monster and saw Garnet and Pearl corrupted."

He almost regretted asking the question. She seemed very bitter, but he couldn't blame her for being quiet.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

They don't speak for several moments, instead watching Steven and Connie comfort each other.

"I hate to ask this, I really do, but I feel I have to."

Amethyst looks at him again, arms crossed.

"Did you two check the barn to see if Lapis and Peridot became corrupted?"

She doesn't answer for a few seconds, realization occurring.

"No." She said. "They're probably corrupted too. I'll go check to see if they damaged the barn."

Before she could move an inch, Steven stopped her.

"I'll come too." He said. "Today's been exhausting, but I want to make sure that, even though they are most likely corrupted, they are okay."

"Me too." Connie says as she and Steven take each other's hand. "We're fighting not only for Earth, but for everyone who lives on it. We all help each other."

"I'm coming too." Greg replies. "Get in the van, I'll drive us all to the barn."

They all quickly walk and get into the van.

After confirmation that everyone was in, Greg starts the van and starts the drive to the barn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Criticism appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	4. Grey Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst, Connie, Greg and Steven go to the barn to see what happened to Lapis and Peridot.

The drive to the barn was silent, each person letting the events of the past few hours sink in fully.

Steven looked outside from the window in the passenger seat, the sky growing darker as they travel to the barn. He started to remember the events of when Peridot, Lapis and Jasper came to Earth with a hand ship. How Jasper wanted to beat his mother into the ground, how she was able to defeat Garnet with the gem destabilizer and how, after the ship crashed, she wanted to fuse with Lapis. Lapis accepted, then imprisoned both of them for months in an unstable fusion. Peridot was able to escape, but had to fear for the Cluster before they found her. She lost her limb enhancers and, after only a few weeks, called Yellow Diamond a clod to her face.  


Many things have changed since then. However, if Lapis and Peridot were corrupted, he wondered if those painful months were better than what they could be going through now. He also began to fear that this could make them hostile.

He forces the thought out of his mind, instead letting a lyric from a song he knew play over and over in his head.

_We're still not giving up._

He took comfort from the familiar sentence, knowing that while it may be hard to figure out how to do it, the gems could be saved. He did it once before, he could do it again.

_Right?_

* * *

 

"Is that the barn?!" Greg exclaims, snapping Steven out of his thought process.

He looks in front of him and sees what seemed to be the barn, except it wasn't.

It was almost completely destroyed.

Steven gasps as Amethyst and Connie move up from the back of the van to look.

"Oh no." Amethyst said as Connie looks in shock.

"I don't think they were able to hide." Steven mumbles, looking down and clenching his gem.

Greg sighs sadly, driving a bit quicker to the barn.

When they got to the barn, it looked more intact than what they thought it would look like, but still heavily damaged.

The roof had a huge hole on it's left side, while the previously damaged and fixed wall on the other side of the barn was destroyed again.

Greg and Steven get out of the van first, allowing Connie and Amethyst to climb out from the back.

"Crud." Amethyst says as they all start to walk to the barn.

Steven walked faster than the others, making it to the inside of the barn first.

His eyes widen. The barn was a mess, with many of Peridot and Lapis's "meep morps" destroyed and their remnants scattered everywhere, but that wasn't what caught Steven's attention.

_Peridot had been poofed._

"Holy smokes." Amethyst said as she and Connie make it to the barn.

Greg comes less than five seconds later, eyes widening and both of his hands reached to his head, elbows extending to his sides.

Steven hurries forward into the barn, quickly picking up Peridot's gem.

"I wonder what happened." He said, weakly, bringing the gem with him back to Amethyst, Connie and Greg.

"Yeah, maybe Lapis attacked."Amethyst said.

"Then, what happened to _her_?" Connie asks.

"She must've flew off."

"That explains the hole in the roof." Greg exclaims, attempting to calm himself down.

Steven sighs, bubbling Peridot.

"We'll free her, definitely. We just need to figure everything out before we do release her in case she is corrupted."

Amethyst nods.

"I'll call construction workers in a little while. Ready to head back?" Greg asks, looking at Steven with kindness in his eyes.

Steven nods.

"Are you guys ready?" He asks Amethyst and Connie, who nod in return.

They start their walk back to the van silently until Connie speaks up.

"Steven, how were you able to heal Amethyst?" Connie asks, turning to the half gem as they walk as quick as they could from the barn.

"I don't know what caused it." He said. "I tried my healing spit, it didn't work. I ended up singing and she joined me. We hugged and then another flash of light occurred and she was fine."

"Wait a second," she turns to Amethyst. "Amethyst, what happened when you were corrupting until Steven started singing.?"

"I heard this painful ringing, sort of like a song, then it seemed to pause and-"

"Singing heals corruption!" Steven realizes, cutting her off unintentionally. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to yell or cut you off."

"It's fine, Ste-man, but that sounds like it could be true."

"Well, remember that if you try doing that again soon, just be careful. Lapis and Peridot seemed to be a bit hostile, and I think that Garnet and Pearl are too." Greg said.

Steven nods as they get into the van, feeling guilty that Lapis and Peridot were in the wild and were too quick for them to find.

"Hey, do you guys wanna go get pizza or something?" Amethyst asks as Greg turns on the van to start the drive back to Beach City. "You guys gotta eat."

"Yeah, alright."

"Sure. We can talk while we eat too."

Connie looks at Steven after she said this, smiling sympathetically at him.

He smiles back.

On the way back to Beach City, Steven noticed the grey sky seemed to show small spots of sun.

He smiles again, hopeful that the others can be helped as the lyric from before played in his head again.

_We're still not giving up._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy of chapter four! Constructive criticism appreciated and thanks for reading.


	5. Attack on the Boardwalk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven, Amethyst, Connie and Greg arrive at Beach City and see something none of them expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: There's a description in this chapter of something that could be called body horror. Be cautious if this makes you uncomfortable.

The ride back was silent only for a few more minutes.

As Greg turned the corner to see the boardwalk, all four of them nearly screamed.

The boardwalk was being destroyed by a magenta rock monster, swinging it's arms near the buildings as the residents of the shops and restaurants ran away or inside.

"Is that Garnet?!" Amethyst shouts, looking outside the window.

Steven's eyes widened as he remembered that, while they had seen Garnet and Pearl try attacking them earlier, he never realized that they would make it here.

"Dad," he exclaims in fear, turning to Greg. "Stop the van, we have to stop her!"

Greg looked at him, forcing himself to not turn the van and leave the town. He knew Steven, Amethyst and Connie could handle it, but he didn't want to risk Steven getting hurt.

He grimaces, sighing and unlocking the doors to the van.

"Thanks dad." Steven said, a small somber smile on his face as he opens the door to the van.

"No problem, Shtu-ball. Just, please be careful."

Steven gives him a quick nod, getting out of the van. Amethyst and Connie follow.

"This is gonna be hard." Amethyst mumbles.

"Yeah, I really wish we didn't have to fight her."

"If we don't, she'll attack and hurt others." Connie added.

"Plus, we can try helping her if we can get her away from the town."

Steven looks forward at Garnet as she hits the walls of the Funland Arcade.

"Ok, let's do this."

Amethyst summons two whips.

"I'll distract her, you two can fuse."

Before either of them can say something, she spin dashes away from the boardwalk and into the beach.

Once she was several feet away, she uses her whips to grab Garnet and pull her away from the beach.

"I really wish I had brought my sword." Connie whispered.

"Well, we can still attack with my shield, even if it's mostly defensive."

He reaches his hand out to her and smiles.

"Jam buds?"

She smiles and takes his hand.

"Jam buds."

* * *

 

Their first movement was to summon two shields, looking at Garnet and Amethyst as they battle.

"Let's dance." They said, running towards them.

Garnet didn't notice them running, focusing on Amethyst as she whips the corrupted fusion.

"I can do this." They said, determined as stars formed in their eyes.

They swing both shields towards the fusion.

They thought that she would be hit and they would have the upper hand.

However, much to their shock, she turns her head and quickly jumps above the shields.

Their eyes widen as Garnet lands and starts running towards them, ignoring Amethyst.

"Stevonnie!" Amethyst shouts, summoning another whip.

"She still has her future vision." They mumble, summoning a bubble around themselves.

They see Amethyst attempt to grab Garnet once again with her whips, but Garnet was too quick.

She uses her fist to punch the bubble back several dozen feet, popping it and causing Stevonnie to hit their face onto the hard wood ground, right near Funland Arcade.

They don't move, lying there for several seconds before coming undone.

* * *

 

Steven groans in pain and lifts himself up, seeing from the corner of his eye, Connie.

"Connie!" He screamed and forces himself up.

She had a deep red, black and blue bruise, a cut the size of his smallest finger had been bleeding.

He screams her name again, but she didn't wake up. She had been knocked out.

He looks in front of him, Garnet was running towards him.

As she stepped on the boardwalk, only a few feet away from the two kids, she was suddenly pushed back several hundred feet away into the forest near the boardwalk as Greg drove his van directly at her.

"Dad!" He screams before licking his right palm and placing it on Connie's head, healing her bloody bruise.

"Steven!" Greg replies, rushing out of the van to where Steven and Connie were.

"Are you okay?!"

"Yeah. Watch Connie for me, I have to go help Amethyst."

"Steven, are you sure?! You already have a large bruise!"

"Yeah dad," His voice cracks as he speaks. "I have to."

Greg sighs, knowing that Steven would go help no matter what he said, and nods.

"Thanks, dad." Steven said as he looks at Connie one more time.

He quickly gets up and runs as quick as he could to where Amethyst and Garnet were battling.

Amethyst seemed to have the upper hand, but as he reached to the battle, Garnet kicks Amethyst back, roaring as she does so.

"Amethyst!" He screams.

Garnet turns towards him and begins to run.

He gasps and summons his shield, closing his eyes as he swings it in her direction

"No!" He shouts as he does so, expecting her to hit him.

He hears a loud roar as he opens his eyes again.

His shield had hit her in the stomach, cracking her rock formation as her body rapidly falls apart like an unstable wall of rocks.

Steven only watches in horror as this occurs, tears forming in his eyes.

When she completely fell apart, her body poofs and all that was left of her was two gems; one red and one blue.

He walks towards the gems and falls to his knees.

 _I could've tried talking to her again._ He thought to himself. _I didn't have to poof her, did I?_

He picks up both the gems and summons a bubble, keeping them both together.

"You okay, Ste-man?" A voice behind him asks.

He turns towards the voice, Amethyst, as she stood behind him.

"I just wish that she didn't have to be poofed."

"Listen Steven, she can be helped, but for now we know she's not suffering from that corruption song noise thing."

He sighs sadly, nodding and sending the bubble to the temple.

"C'mon, we gotta go talk to the crowd."

"Crowd?"

He looks at the boardwalk, seeing a huge crowd a people talking as he sees Mayor Dewey trying and failing to calm them down.

"Uh oh."

* * *

The crowd was much larger and louder than Steven had predicted.

It was only around twenty five people, but that was still more than when the power went out.

"Everybody, calm down!" Mayor Dewey shouted using his megaphone.

"You expect us to be calm, Dewey?!" Kofi Pizza yells. "A large rock beast tried destroying the town!"

"Yeah!" Jenny shouts, agreeing with her father.

Steven runs to Mayor Dewey, who was stuttering nervously.

"Mayor Dewey?" He asked.

"Universe!" He exclaims, moving the megaphone away from his face. "Do you know what that was?!"

"Yeah. It was something that..." He pauses, remembering the flash of light from only a few hours ago.

"It was a gem that was a bit hostile, but I need to use the megaphone."

Mayor Dewey looked at the rowdy crowd once again before handing the megaphone over to the boy.

"Thank you." Steven said.

He looks at the crowd one more time before speaking.

"Everyone, please stop!"

The crowd becomes silent in only a few seconds.

"I know that many places were damaged, but it's fine. We can repair this city!"

"Oh yeah?!" Ronaldo suddenly shouts. "What about that huge flash of light earlier, huh?! It's the rock monsters! They're invading _again_! Am I the only one who realizes this?!"

Steven doesn't speak for a second, starting to wonder if Ronaldo was right. _What if Homeworld is actually planning on invading?_

He pushes the thought out of his head, focusing on the crowd.

"No invasions are going to happen soon!"

"So it might happen again?" Mr. Fryman shouts.

"Anything could happen! Even if there is another invasion, it doesn't automatically mean that we're doomed. We are the light of this city, and we will defend this town - this planet no matter what!"

The crowd cheers as Steven smiles, handing the megaphone back to Mayor Dewey.

He walked towards Amethyst, who stood a few feet away from the crowd.

"Way to go, Steven."

"Thanks Amethyst."

"Yeah Steven, that was great."

Steven turns his head, seeing Greg and Connie walk up to him.

"Connie, you're okay!" He said enthusiastically, running towards her and embracing her.

"Yeah. Amethyst and Mr. Universe explained what had happened. At least no one got permanently hurt."

Steven nods as Greg walks towards Mayor Dewey. They could briefly hear him say that they would help clean up and pay for the damage.

"You ready to clean up some damage?" Amethyst asked the two kids.

* * *

 

After spending the next six hours cleaning up the damage, Connie was picked up by her parents near the boardwalk. Greg had told them that a monster had attacked, but didn't explain that Connie had gotten hurt or that she had fused with Steven to fight; she had asked if he didn't tell them this.

Steven, Amethyst and Greg checked to see what the temple looked like not long after, only to find that Garnet and Pearl destroyed most of the house, including Steven's room. Pearl was nowhere to be found.

Steven asked Greg if they could stay with him, even though he already knew the answer.

* * *

 

They all stood outside of the van, the night sky had several stars shining bright.

"Am I allowed to crash on the roof?" Amethyst asked Greg.

"Sure Amethyst."

"Alright!"

Greg smiles at her before turning to Steven.

"You wanna sleep in the back of the van with me?" He asked.

Steven nodded, smiling.

"Ok, Shtu-ball. I'm gonna hit the hay, now. After help cleaning up, I'm exhausted."

Steven walks towards him and gives him a hug.

Greg hugs back as Steven speaks.

"Good night, dad."

"Good night, Steven."

The father and son allow each other out of the embrace. Greg looks at Amethyst who gives him a peace sign with her left hand.

He smiles and gets into the back of the van as Amethyst jumps onto the roof of the van.

"I'll come in in a few minutes." Steven said.

"Alright."

Steven walks away from the door in the back of the van and jumps onto the roof, landing as quickly as he could.

"Hey Amethyst." He said, smiling at her.

"Hey lil' man." She replied. "Thought you were going to sleep now."

"Yeah, but I had to talk for a minute. Do you mind?"

"Nah. What do ya' gotta speak about?"

"Well..."

Steven looks up at the night sky, seeing a shooting star cross the sky.

"Do you think that Homeworld's gonna actually come?"

She shakes her head and sits down on the roof.

"Listen Steven, I don't think they would come after attacking. They're dumb, but not that dumb. We have time."

"We can't waste that time either."

"Nope, but we still have time."

He nods, although he wasn't fully reassured.

"Thanks Amethyst."

"No problem, Steven."

He smiles at her.

"Well, I'm gonna go to bed. Good night, Amethyst."

"Night, kid."

He hops off the roof of the van, landing quietly and entering the van.

He shut the door quietly, seeing that his father had already fallen asleep.

Steven sees an extra blanket that Greg had left for him and wrapped himself in it, allowing himself to relax and fall asleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this longer-than-usual chapter! Constructive criticism appreciated, and thanks for reading.


	6. Green Filled Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven has a dream about a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to post this chapter again because the formatting screwed up. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!

The first thing he remembered doing was flying.

His feet were rockets keeping him in the air as he joyfully screamed. He flew above the clouds, admiring the clear blue sky.

At times, he would fly below the clouds and saw some familiar places. Sometimes, it was Beach City. Other times, it was nearby areas like Empire City.

He continued doing this for a few more minutes. He didn't scream anymore, but rather had an ear to ear grin on his face.

As he looked all around him to see the sky, he saw something that didn't blend in with the sky; small green dots. They seemed to act like glitching pixels, changing shades of green rapidly.

"Huh?" He wondered, turning towards them and starting to fly in their direction.

The number of pixels seemed to increase as her quickly flew closer and closer to them, his curiosity growing until it reaches a screeching halt.

"It's finished!" A voice screamed.

Steven stopped flying for a moment, caught off guard from the sudden, yet familiar voice.

He could feel his eyes widen as he was able to place the voice to who was speaking.

_It was Peridot._

"After several days, I've officially finished this meep morp!" Peridot screamed happily, louder than she was yelling before.

Peridot continued to describe her project as Steven flew closer to the pixels, which were now spreading across the sky, covering his vision of the once-normal and familiar view.

"Peridot?" He asked, looking around in hopes he could see her.

As he got closer, he starts to feel as if he was being sucked into the pixels.

He tried to use his rockets to fly backwards. He didn't know where they would lead to. He didn't _want_ to know where they lead.

 _The pixels could be from Peridot._ He thought to himself. _I could talk to her about what happened! This is a dream, I'm not going to die. At least I hope so._

He sighed, allowing the pixels to overwhelm him as he wished he was right.

* * *

He landed on his stomach, Peridot still speaking.

"It's a pretty impressive meep morp, wouldn't you agree Lapis?"

"Peridot?" Steven asked again, getting to his feet and looking around at his surroundings.

The area around him was a lime green, but also seem to flicker to darker shades of green every few seconds.

However, much to his surprise, he also saw Peridot standing several yards away from him.

She was still talking, ignoring Steven as if he weren't there.

"Peridot?" He asked again louder, starting to walk in her direction.

"Y'know, we've been building Camp Pining Hearts related meep morps for a while. Wanna go and re-watch the whole season?"

"Peridot!"

That's when she stopped talking, gasping before suddenly falling to her knees and gripping onto the ground. She screams in pain as her hands starts to become paws in only a few seconds.

Steven gasped, quickly running closer to her side.

She seemed to start panting as she screamed in pain as her moments become more robotic, her arms growing fur and her triangular hair splitting in half.

"Peridot, you can fight this!" Steven yelled before licking his hand.

He tries to touch her, but his hand goes straight through her. It was as if she was a hologram.

"Peridot! You can fight this!" He continued to encourage her to fight before he starts to sing.

"We, are the crystal gems. We'll always save the-"

" _AH_!"

The scream shocked Steven, stopping his singing. Peridot was no longer sounding like herself, but rather like a screeching cat. Still audible, but too far gone to be saved during the dream.

Her screams turned into hisses as she succumbed to the corruption song. Steven could feel tears start to form. He was invisible to her, unable to do anything except watch in horror.

Suddenly, the corrupted Peridot looks up before screeching, her body getting attacked by something. Or someone.

"What's happening?!" Steven yelled, before everything around him went dark.

* * *

 

Steven woke up in a cold sweat, with his left hand on his chest and his right hand clutching his gem. He was breathing hard, as if he had just run several miles without stopping.

"Peridot." He whispered, careful to not wake up his father before looking outside.

The sun had only started to rise on the horizon; it was still early in the morning.

He sighed, letting go of his gem and wiping off the sweat that had formed while he was sleeping.

"Is that what Peridot is thinking about in her gem?" He wondered, rubbing his face to wake himself up fully.

He sighed before trying to go back to sleep, but he gave up when the entire sun was visible.

He sighed and stands up before he sees Amethyst landing onto the ground a few feet away from the van.

 _She probably just woke up_.

The purple gem seemed to walk quickly to the van before pulling the back door open.

"Hey Ste-man." She said, although she looked surprised to see him awake.

"Hey Amethyst. How was your night?"

She sat down next to him. It took her a few seconds to reply.

"Nothing very exciting. What about you? You look like need a bag check for your eyes, little man."

 _She's going to find out eventually._ He thought. _Plus, this is important._

He sighed, not looking at Amethyst as he spoke.

"I watched Peridot get corrupted in my dream last night."

"Wait, you did?!" She replied, eyes widening. "What happened?"

Steven forced himself to describe the dream to her and beginning to tear up as he described Peridot getting attacked after she became corrupted.

"Holy smokes, kid. That's what happened to her?"

"I'm pretty sure. It was too clear to be just a dream. I'm pretty sure, anyway."

Neither of them speak for a few moments, Steven allowing himself to enjoy the silence; Amethyst was the one to speak again first.

"Does that mean Peridot was trying to communicate with you?"

"She might be."

"Well, we gotta do something. If she's trying to talk to ya', she definitely isn't that far gone."

Steven heard Greg groan, pausing the conversation between himself and Amethyst.

"Steven?" Greg asked, sitting up to face his son. "What's going on? Did I miss something?"

* * *

 

Steven had to explain to his dad what had occurred and their plan, which Greg reluctantly agreed to. He also agreed to let Connie come, but he had to go to _It's a Wash!_ to work.

Connie came over, with her sword, a few hours later. She told her parents that she was training, not mentioning that her instructor was now corrupted and lost.

Connie, Amethyst and Steven went through Amethyst's room, make it to the Crystal Heart before going down the tubes to make it to the burning room.

"Oh my gosh. This place is huge!" Connie exclaimed, looking around the room and seeing all of the bubbles.

"Yeah, it is pretty big." Steven said, looking around for Peridot's bubble.

"I think I found her, guys!" Amethyst yelled summoning her whip and pulling the bubble closer to the ground.

Steven moves to bubble into his hands, looking at Amethyst and Connie.

"Are you guys ready?" He asked.

Both of them nod before Steven puts the bubble onto the ground and allows it to pop.

That's when Peridot's gem started to glow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took a bit longer to come out. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed! Constructive criticism appreciated, and thanks for reading.


	7. Are You Still There?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven, Amethyst and Connie attempt to talk to corrupted Peridot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the unannounced hiatus. I've had a bit of writing burnout and needed to take a break. 
> 
> Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy chapter 7!

The green gem rose into the air, glowing as light emerged from it. No one spoke as this occurred, the only audible sounds being the shaky breaths from Steven and the regenerating gem. The light from Peridot's gem started to look like it was keeping Peridot's regular, human-like body. Steven held his breath, hoping that there may be a chance she may have not be corrupted at all. Less than a second later, however, the gem started to change into a form only Steven was able to recognize. Her body started to grow larger as her hair split down the middle, her hands and feet turning into paws, claws growing on her fingers; fur seemed to start growing on her arms and legs as well.

Peridot's body solidified as she screeched, dropping her paws to the ground. She pants heavily as she opens her eyes and observes the room; her eyes being completely black with two large green pupils. She steps back several feet from Steven, Amethyst and Connie, who watch her movements. Steven pushes down his feelings of nervousness, taking a step forward.

"Hi, Peridot." He said, keeping a calm smile on his face. The corrupted gem doesn't break eye contact with him as he speaks, focusing on him closely. He takes another step closer, his breathing becoming less even. "Do you remember me?"

Peridot pants heavily, taking a forceful step forward towards Steven. Her whiskers pressed against her face as she begins snarling, squinting her eyes and wrinkling her nose. Steven could feel his heart sink.

_If she can't remember me, how could I heal her now?_

Against his better judgment, he takes another step forward.

"I know you don't recognize us, and I know everything is probably really scary for you right now. But it's okay, you don't have to be afraid." His arm lower to his sides and Peridot takes another step forward, breathing beginning to slow down. "Do you wanna come relax with us?"

Peridot's body lowers to the ground as she continues slowly walking towards the boy. He takes another step forward before getting on his knees. For a brief moment, he turns around and sees Amethyst and Connie; the gem's whip had dissipated and Connie had lowered her sword. He smiles before turning back to Peridot, reaching his right hand out towards her as he can begin to feel her breathing.

Her head was a few feet away from the boy when she stopped walking, waiting for Steven to speak or move; her pupils had become smaller since when she originally formed. Steven smiles crookedly at the corrupted gem. Everything seemed to be going well, yet the whole situation gave Steven an odd sense of déjà vu.

_This feels familiar. Why does it feel like I've done this - Wait a minute, I did this with Centi!_

Steven looked at the gem again. She seemed relaxed, but alert.

 _Should I try using my spit?_ He wondered. _It won't fully heal her, but maybe it can partially work like it did with Centi?_

He pushes his doubts aside as he licks his hand. Peridot picks her head up, looking at him as he showed her his spit-covered hand.

"It's okay, Peridot. I'm not gonna hurt you, I just wanna try and help." He stood up as he spoke, trying to keep his breathing normal. No one moved as he got close to her face before Peridot started to hiss, quickly standing up and kicking him away from her toward the door of the burning room; she had also was able to tear parts of Steven's shirt off.

He groaned, touching the torn area of his shirt before looking ahead, seeing that Amethyst had re-summoned both of her whips and was attempting to pin Peridot to the ground. He also saw Connie holding her sword in a defensive position before swinging it toward the corrupted gem. His eyes widened as he shoots up, ignoring the pain of the attack that developed near his chest.

"Amethyst! Connie! _Stop, please_!"

They both turn to him, but the damage had already been done; Peridot screeches as she poofed, her gem falling to the ground. Amethyst dissipates her whips and catches the green gem as Steven ran toward them.

"You didn't have to attack her." He said, looking at Peridot's gem. "We have to try something else. She won't let me use my healing spit, but we need to do something to remember us."

None of them spoke for a few seconds, thinking quietly of another way to help Peridot.

"Maybe we can bring her to the barn? She _was_ when she first poofed, so it could be the last place she remembers." Connie suggested while Amethyst handed Peridot's gem to Steven. 

"Y'know, that makes sense. I say we do it. Plus, it's not gonna kill us. Whataya say, Ste-man?"

He looked toward Amethyst and Connie before nodding. _Don't worry, Peridot. We're going to help you, even if it takes us another five thousand years._

* * *

Steven, Amethyst and Connie hardly spoke as Amethyst flew them to the barn as quick as she could; she only shapeshifted into a helicopter once before, but doing it twice in one day seemed to exhaust her, which was unusual.

"There's the barn." Steven said, looking out of the helicopter while holding Connie's hand with his right hand and the bubble containing Peridot's gem in the other. "I hope this works."

"I hope so too." Connie replied, squeezing his hand.

"What if it doesn't work? I don't know if I can sing and heal her if she doesn't even remember me."

"Yeah, but she also may remember everything once she sees the barn."

Steven sighs, continuing to look outside the helicopter and forcing himself to not think of anything and listen to the sound of the wind blowing.

Amethyst landed near the barn not even a minute later, quickly shapeshifting back to her normal form and causing Steven and Connie to fall two feet to the ground while holding each other's hand.

"Rats, you two alive?" She asked.

"Yeah." They both said, releasing each other's hand as Steven stood up, looking up towards where Peridot's bubble stayed; it didn't fall with them.

Steven helped Connie to her feet before quickly jumping up and grabbing the bubble.

"You guys ready?" He asked again, seeing them nod before they all enter the barn and popped Peridot's bubble, allowing the corrupted gem to reform for the second time.

She takes less time to reform, quickly solidifying to her corrupted form with a screech. She seemed to look around to the area near her before her eyes focused on Steven for a split second. However upon seeing Connie and Amethyst again, she hissed and her eyes narrowed at them.

"It's okay, Peridot. We're not gonna hurt you again." Steven takes a step forward. "Do you remember this place? Do you have any of your old memories?"

He walked to the nearest item to his left; the pieces of a broken green alien face. He picked it up and showed it to her.

"Remember this? You used this for one of your meep morps. Or  maybe, um..." He looked around for something else to show her, something to jog her memory. _Anything._ "Amethyst, Connie, help. Please." He whispered.

The two of them quickly start looking around, grabbing any items nearby.

"What about this?" Amethyst asked, showing her the broken tape recorder. "You used this for recording your logs.'

"Or maybe this?" Connie added. "It looks like a flag. Did you use it for something?"

 Steven could feel himself fall to his knees as Peridot was unable to identify any of the items shown to her.

_It didn't work. She doesn't remember. Does that mean she's gone for good? She can't be. She has to have her memories. I just gotta draw them out. How? I have to do something to help. I **have** to._

The same thoughts spun around in his mind as he gripped his gem, allowing tears to form and fall down his cheeks.

"Steven?!" Connie almost screamed. His eyes shot open as he looked at her. She stood right in front of him, tears of her own starting to form. "Are you okay?!"

With a nod, he quickly got up and wiped his tears. Only a few feet away, he saw Amethyst showing more items to an enraged Peridot to no avail. With a groan of frustration, she falls back first to the ground.

He sighed before starting to walk forward toward the corrupted gem.

"Peridot?" He asked.

She turned her head towards him, her narrow eyes widened at the sight of the boy. "I know you're still there, Peridot. I know it might hurt to remember, but doing it will help you."

Her body lowered to the ground as she takes a step toward the boy. She looked him in the eye as he opened his arms wide, tears developing in his eyes again.

"Remember when we hung out in the rain? Or when you participated in the Robolympics? Or maybe even when we went to Funland?" He walks forward to her and he is able to wrap his arms around her. She hissed for a brief moment, but allowed the boy to hug her. "Even if you don't remember, we're not gonna give up on you. I love you, _we_ love you."

He hugged her for a few moments before feeling a vibration come from the gem. He was able to hear what she seemed to be trying to say and knew what she was trying to say. _Wow, thanks._

Steven gasped, moving his arms so he could look her in the eye. "You remember."

Peridot grinned at him, showing all of her teeth as tears start to form from Steven's eyes.

He laughed happily, hugging her again. _She's getting better. She remembers her past._

Steven released her from the hug a few moments after, looking at Amethyst and Connie enthusiastically. Connie seemed to looking at her phone with worry.

"Nice job, lil' man. None of us are dead." Amethyst said.

"Thanks." He replied before looking at Connie. "Connie? Are you alright?"

She looked at him, worry was written all over her face. "My parents called and texted me five times individually. Something happened and they're coming to pick me up at _It's a Wash_ in five minutes and they sent that text nearly ten minutes ago."

Steven's eyes widen. "Oh no. I'm so sorry, Connie. It's all my fault."

"Hey Connie, I could fly ya' over if ya' want."

"It's ok, Amethyst. I can-"

Before Connie could say anymore, the gem shapeshifted into a helicopter. "Get in."

Peridot looked at them, bewildered as Steven moved away from her.

"Hey Peridot, I'll be back. Can you stay here please?"

He didn't have to tell her twice; she walked to where the broken pieces of the green alien were, trying to put them back together.

"We'll be back, Dot." Amethyst said as Steven and Connie boarded the helicopter. She rose into the air as Steven smiled at Peridot.

 _We're gonna heal you, Peridot._ He thought again, only this time he was certain that they could. _I promise._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this, we are done with Arc 1 of the fanfic! Chapter 8 will most likely be posted following this fanfic's normal schedule (one chapter every Saturday). Also, thank you all for reading this fanfic so far, I hope you all are enjoying it!
> 
> Any constructive criticism is appreciated, and thank you all again for reading.
> 
> (Also, Arc 1's title was "Corruption."  
> Arc 2's title is "Manipulation.")


	8. Back to the Spire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst and Steven go on a long-overdue mission to the Sky Spire.

He hadn't been to the Sky Spire in years.

The last time he was there, it was with Amethyst and Pearl. This time, he was standing near another corrupted gem. The gem, which was similar in shape to the gems Jasper had imprisoned, didn't try attacking. Instead, the deep yellow gem started to walk near the entrance of the Spire, as if there was something inside that she was looking for.

"I wonder what she's doing." Steven whispered to himself, deciding to follow her inside. However, before he made it inside, he heard a loud squawk of a bird nearby.

He turned his head, only to see a bird with peach pink feathers, spread across its body, which was pure white with small areas of blue towards the bottom. She had a long beak with two small, but bright blue eyes. The sun caused her forehead to shine due to a white pearl being directly above her beak; Steven had seen her before.

"Pearl?!' He exclaimed, beginning to walk away from the entrance of the Spire. However, he blinked once and his surroundings were gone, becoming black. For a moment, Steven thought that his eyes were still closed before sighing sadly.

He closed his eyes again, expecting to wake up soon. However, a painful scream shattered the silence in the darkness.

_"STEVEN!"_

The boy's eyes shot open, his body jerking upward as he began to look around the area around him. All of his surroundings were now a deep reddish-purple. A color that seemed eerily familiar to the young boy. He began to stand up again as another figure appears only a few feet in front of him, practically out of thin air. He jerked backwards and looked at them, shock was written on his face. They had their left arm right in front of their face, covering two of their eyes from view. Their arms had lines developing, rapidly beginning to spread to other parts of their body. Their only visible eye had tear stains underneath as they clench their teeth, fighting back pain. He recognized her automatically.

"Garnet?!" Steven yelled, taking on step back away from her.

"Why didn't you come back Steven?!" She yelled back, tears developing again as the lines started to slowly spread beyond her arms. As the lines spread, they seemed to turn Garnet's arms into rocks. "I thought you would be quick! You knew that we had to find those gems, but you couldn't even come back?!" She takes one forceful step towards the trembling boy. Her foot hit the ground hard enough to sound like a stomp. The force was strong enough to knock Steven off of his feet, landing on his back.

He stared wide eyed at his guardian, her body swiftly becoming more rocky in formation. His fear paralyzed him, unable to move as she took another step closer. Steven closed his eyes, not wanting to look at his friend in pain anymore. However, he was able to hear a sharp screech from Garnet as she succumbed to the Diamonds' song; she wasn't fully herself anymore. He heard her take one more step toward him and he screamed.

_"I'M SORRY!"_

Then he didn't hear anything else.

 

* * *

 

Steven could feel his heart beating furiously as he became aware of his surroundings again. He didn't automatically open his eyes, realizing that he wasn't dreaming anymore. His right hand was clutching his gem, his left hand was gripping onto the wooden floor, ripping the wood from the ground. His entire body felt sweaty and the heat from the sun beat down on him without mercy.

_Wait a minute,_ Steven thought. _Why am I on the floor?_

He opened his eyes a small amount, squinting due to the sudden light, only to see Amethyst standing near Peridot as she tried moving broken meep morps together with her paws and nose. _Oh, right; we stayed at the barn for the night._

With a sigh, he got up from the ground, trying to avoid getting a splinter from the wood he lied on.

"Yo, Ste-man!" Amethyst yelled excitedly to him, watching him get up from the ground. He looked at her as she swung her right arm around Peridot, who didn't hiss at the rapid gesture. "P-dot remembers me!"

"She _does_?" Steven asked, a smile forming on his face as he ran toward them.

"Yep!" She turned her focus to Peridot, pointing her who almost looked like she was smiling. "Yo, Peri. Guess what?"

Peridot turned to look Amethyst in the eye as Steven stood only a few feet away, grinning ear to ear with stars in his eyes.

"You're a nerd."

Amethyst laughed happily, releasing Peridot from her right arm and allowing her to move; she still stayed next to Amethyst and Steven and begun to emit a sound that almost sounded like a confused cackle. Steven laughed awkwardly, fiddling with his fingers while keeping his hands folded.

The laughter died down after a few moments and Steven looked at Peridot as she sat down; he hasn't seen her this relaxed since before she corrupted.  _This is great. She's improving so quickly! Maybe this won't be as hard as I-_

"Hey Steve-O," Amethyst begun to speak, pointing to his shirt as she sits down next to Peridot. "Did ya' take a dip in the lake during the night? You look drenched."

Steven looked at her confused before looking down at his shirt. There were sweat stains underneath his arms and on the star in the middle of his shirt; somehow he didn't see them until now.  _Whoops._

He didn't immediately reply, continuously fidgeting his fingers and focusing on his breathing, becoming quicker with each passing moment. The wind had started to pick up in speed, the sun being covered by the clouds.

"Steven, ya' zoning out?" Amethyst asked, her expression and voice becoming stern. "What did ya' do that got you wet?"

With a defeated sigh, he sat down as Peridot rose her head to look at him, distressed. He smiled briefly at her before looking down at the ground. "This isn't water - it's sweat; I had a dream last night, and..."

Moments from both parts of the dream resurfaced. Pearl flying toward the Sky Spire, possibly attacking other corrupted gems that were there. Garnet - 

_No, I can't tell them about that._

"...I think I know where Pearl is."

Steven clenched his hands together, looking up to Amethyst and Peridot, the former of them wide-eyed. She didn't automatically respond, trying to allow the news to sink in. Peridot, on the other hand, seemed ecstatic. She grinned and almost seemed to have stars in her eyes. Steven smiled at her again and was about to speak, but Amethyst cut him off as she got up from the ground.

"What?!" She yelled, her hands slammed against the sides of her head in shock. "Well, where is she, Steven?!"

"Well, I think I was able to enter the mind of a corrupted gem. She seemed to be standing with another corrupted gem at the Sky Spire, but then Pearl started to fly toward us."

Amethyst processed this as Steven stood up, the old wood creaking. He could see Peridot start to walk to the other side of the barn as Amethyst grabbed his hand, beginning to pull him in the direction of the warp pad. "We gotta go."

"What about Peridot?!" He exclaimed, turning around to see Peridot sitting on the other side of the barn, fiddling with the materials close to her. She had always called the barn her home, but seeing her staying calm and more like her old self allowed Steven to calm down. _This **is** her home. Why would she leave?_

He smiled briefly before turning back to Amethyst, nodding at her as they both ran to the warp pad.

 

* * *

 

 The long walk up the mountains to the Sky Spire was silent, Steven lost in thought and coming up with every single possible scenario that could occur - even the ones that made no sense. 

_Pearl probably won't remember us._ He thought to himself.  _Will she attack? Will we be able to calm her down if she does attack?_

He sighed to himself somberly and looked at Amethyst, who was staring at the ground as they walked. The wind was starting to pick up as they reached one of the mountains leading to the floating islands; their destination was close.

Suddenly, the wind started to pick up, as Steven looked up, seeing the Sky Spire for the first time in his own body in years; it's platform looked mostly destroyed. Its roof had caved in and the steps leading to it were destroyed. He gasped audibly once he saw something that was standing on the platform, guarding the destroyed structure. _Pearl._

"Oh no." Amethyst mumbled, analyzing the damage to the building. "It looks like those gems did more damage than you saw in- wait a minute, is that _Pearl_?!"

Her voice rose in volume as she saw Pearl, loud enough to allow her to hear. She turned her head and squawked loudly, rising from the platform and flying swiftly toward the floating island. "Oh, crud."

As Pearl reached Steven and Amethyst and attempted to strike, Steven summoned a shield large enough to block the oncoming attack. The moment the shield appeared, she stopped flying. She stared at it, examining it and almost looked like she recognized it. Steven didn't move a muscle, keeping his shield active even as it became more painful to hold. After a few moments, Pearl quietly shrieked, getting off of the shield and flew to the other side of the island and sitting down at the edge.

"What was that all about?" Amethyst mumbled as Steven dissipated his shield and looked to where Pearl was sitting. She was making an odd sounding noise multiple times; it seemed like she was weeping. Without thinking, Steven ran quickly toward her, even though Amethyst didn't immediately follow.

He was right - Pearl was crying. She allowed the tears to fall and either get on her feathers or fall onto the ground. Her beak was directed toward the ground, refusing to look up even as Steven reached her side.

"Pearl?" He asked quietly, looking up at her. "It's okay, I'm here. We're here - Amethyst and I." He turned toward Amethyst, who slowly walked toward Steven and Pearl.

"Yeah, P." She mumbled, scratching her neck while shuffling her feet in the grass. "We got your back."

Pearl stopped crying for a moment, turning to look at Steven and Amethyst. Her head was at least ten feet above them, but they could tell that she was looking at them. Suddenly, she lowered her head toward them - low enough for them to see her eyes with tear stains underneath them. Steven felt his heart sink - she remembered them, but she must've remembered her past with his mother as well. He attempted to reach up and wipe her tear as an act of comfort, but Amethyst tapped him on the shoulder, pointing at something in the sky.

"Steven, look!" She exclaimed, starting to wave her finger that pointed outward. He turned to attention to where she was pointing. There was something falling toward the ground. From a distance, it looked like a shooting star, but that couldn't be the case. It was only around noon, after all. 

"I think it going to crash near the warp pad." Steven said.

"Great." Amethyst said sarcastically, throwing her hands up into the air. "This is just perfect! We have no simple way to get home, much less see what that _thing_ is!"

He sighed, watching the unknown object fall toward the main mountain where the warp pad was before Pearl squawked loudly. He watched as she stood up and spread her wings before lowering one of them to the ground, her beak pointing down toward them. Steven stepped forward and gently touched her wing before jumping high into the air, allowing himself to land on her back. Amethyst jumped on only a few moments later, grinning wide before Pearl rose her wing off the ground and begun to fly to the mountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for my second unannounced/unplanned hiatus. I've been rather busy lately, but I do intend on finishing this fanfic.
> 
> Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Constructive criticism appreciated, and thanks for reading. :)
> 
> (I also feel that this is a good time to mention that I'm working on [playlist](https://playmoss.com/en/singingnonstop/playlist/-be-eaae-seaa) for this fanfic.)

**Author's Note:**

> My headcanon is that Steven will be able to sing a song to heal corrupted gems. I then saw the "Amethyst will get corrupted" theory, and then this idea popped into my head. I may continue and make this a multi-chapter fic, depending on the response. Constructive Criticism about it is appreciated and encouraged. Thank you for reading my fanfic!


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